Life-saving equipment for submarines



Aug. 5, 1930. J. M. DEAN LIFE SAVING EQUIPMENT FOR SUBIARINES Filed Dec. 3, 1928 2 Shoots-Sheet 1 Inventor 5, 1930. Q 7 4 DEAN 1,772,306

LIFE SAILING E UIfMENT FOR SUBMARINES Filed Dec. 3, 19 28, 2 SheetsSheet Inventor Attorney Patented Auug; 5, i930 I unrr s'rares' osnr r nnAN, orsomnnsn'r, assacnnsnrrs mrn-sevrne nearer/ruler roRYsuBM-aimvns Application filed December 3, 1928. "Serial No. 323,470.

The object of my said invention is the pro vision of a practical and efiicient lifesaving equipment for submarines. c I I To the attainment of the foregoing'the in- 6 vention consists inthe improvement as here-1 inaiter described and definitely claimed In, the accompanyingdrawings forming part of this specification: V t

Figure 1 is a view showing a sunken sub 1 marine and also showing what may be prop erly denominated as the passenger c'arrier of my improvement as being raised from the submarine through the medium of means on a vessel onthe surface, the latter vessel not-being illustrated. .t

Figure Qis a toplplan View showing the said carrierin its normal positionina submar1ne-1. e. with the upper wall of the car- 7 necessary. Fixed guideways 9 are provided rier flush with the deck of the submarine.

Figure 3Vis a horizontal section on an enlarged scale showing the carrier and the casing in which the carrier is normally disposed, and also showing the doors complementary. to the carrier and the casing and the arrange ment of the said casing relative to compartment walls in thesubmarin'e, r t

Figure t is an enlarged transverse section taken in a plane parallel to one end wall of the stationary casing in thesubmarine and showing a portion of said wall broken away. to bring out the, fact thatboth the stationary casing and the carrier are provided with sight glasses. 7 g

Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section taken through .the stationary casingfand the carrier ina plane parallel to that of Figure 4 andshowing one of the doorscomplementary to the carrier.

Similar numerals or" reference designate corresponding parts in all the views of the drawings: r

Ingeneral the submarine '1 may be, and preferably is of the ordinary well known construct-ion or of any other construction com- 1' patible with the purposes of my lIlVGIltlOIll The interior of the submarine 1 is divided byappropriate walls 2 into compartments, and my improvement is intended to permit sailors to pass from one compartment to another through the improvement, andis also fecting my invention.

intended to permit ofsailors entering the carrier from different compartments.

The stationary casing of my improvementv is designated by 3, and the passenger carrier elements being preferably of steel, though other material may be employed without af- As will be understood by comparison of Figures 2 to 5, the casingB is arranged below the deck 5 of the submarine vand is fixedrela tively to said deck and the partition walls 2.

In opposite walls the stationary casing 3 is provided with openings ,6, controlled by doors 7 which are rubberflanged or otherwised appropriately packedpand are equipped with suitable fasteners 8 for detachably securing the doors in closedrposition when deemed at the inner sides of the side walls of the stationary casing-3, and stationary guide ways '10 are provided atv the inner sides of the end walls of said casing, the guideways I 10being located'below and above the before mentioned door openings 6 r The carrier 4 is of hollow form, and isprovidedwith door openings 11 normally in coincidence with the door openings 6 and is also; provided with doors 12 rubber flanged or otherwise appropriately packed and equipped with suitable fasteners 13'. Fixed.

to thesides of the carrier 4 are vertically disposed slides 14 normally arranged in the guidecways 9, Figure 3,'and fixed to the ends of the carrier 4 are vertically disposed slides 15,-located below and above the openings 11,

and normally arranged in the guideways 10. I

The top wall 16 of the carrier etexten'ds be-v yond the side and end walls of said carrier and. is normally arrangedin a countersink 17 formed in the submarine deck5 as brought out in Figure 5. Normally, the'wall 16 of the carrier 4: is flush with the deck 5 of the submarine, F ignre 5,,and preferably but not necessarily the extended portion of the wall 16 is detachably connected to the deck 5. The fastening alluded to may be of any appropriate description, though I have showirby way of example headed screws 18 threaded through the extended portion of the wall 16 and into the portion of the deck 5 below the countersink 17. Suitable packing for the exclusion of water designated by 19 is interposed between the extended portion of the wall 16'and the deck portion below said countersink 17, as appears in Figure 5. Manifestly under normal conditions the head of the screws 18 may be countersunk in the upper sides of the wall 16, so as not to offer any projection above said wall 16. A manhole 20, Figure 2, is provided'in the Wall 16, said manhole 20 being normally closed by an appropriate door 21 provided when deemed necessary with a handle 22 and with appropriate packing, the latter not being the eyes 23 by a diver precedentto the rails ing of the carrier 4 through the medium of the cable 26 to avessel on the surface, for the tr'ansferof passengers or sailors from the interior of the sunkensubmarine to the said vessel on the surface. Through the medium of the walls 27 and 28 a chamber 29 is formed in the carrier 4, and access may be gained to said chamber by a diver on the deck of the submarine through an opening 30 normally controlled by a suitably fastened door 31.

Extending through the wall 28 are tubes 32 normally capped at their lower and upper ends as designated by 33 and'designed to be connected with means, well known in the art, for supplying the interior of the carrier 4.with air under pressure or oxygen,'as occasion demands. Also arranged in the compartment 29 is the threaded end portion of a pipe 34, said pipe 34 being equipped with a cut off valve 33 which is also located in the chamber 29. The pipe 34 extends downwardly from the chamber 29 and termina tes adjacent to the bottom wall of the carrier 4 in a branch 36 which communicates at its lower end with the interior of the carrier 4 and is equipped with an upwardly opening nonreturn valve 37. The pipe 34 is also provided with a branch 38 which extends through the bot-tom walls of the carrier 4 and communicates with the interior of the stationary casing 3 at 39, and is equipped with an upwardly opening nonreturn valve 40. By virtue of the provision just described, a hose (not shown) leading to a pump on the vessel on the surface may be attached to the pipe 34 and the pump alluded to may be utilized to remove water from both the casing 3 and the carrier 4.

As will be understood by comparison of Figures 4 and 5, the casing 3 and the carrier 4 are provided with coincident sight glasses 41 and 42, respectively, whereby persons in the carrier 4 may see into the compartment adjacent to the casing 3 and persons looking from the compartment may observe the interior of the carrier 4 when all of the doors 7 and 12 are closed. 7

The carrier 4 is preferably, though not necessarily equipped with the ladder 43 and it will also be noted by reference to Figure 5 that the said carrier 4'is provided with conduit 44 which extends through the bottom of the carrier 4 and is equipped within the carrier with a cut off valve 45.

Normally the equipment constituting my invention is arranged in the submarine with all of the doors 7 and 12 open, and consequently it will be understood that if convenient sailors or passengers in the submarine desiring to pass from one compartment to another'may pass through the casing 3 and the carrier 4'. It will also beappreciated that when flooding of one compartment adjacent to the casing'3 commences, the casing 3 by the closing of the proper door 7 may be isolated from the said compartment.

The primary purpose of my improvement is to enable sailors in asunken submarine to be transferred from the interior of the submarine to a rescuing vessel on the surface, and in the use of my improvement it will be understood that when disaster overtakes the submarine, the sailors are to pass from adjacent compartments of the vessel into the stationary casing 3 and the carrier 4, all of the doors 7 and 12 being closed.

WVhen after a disaster to a submarine equipped'with my improvement, a rescuing vessel arrives at the place of disaster it is the province of the master of the rescuing vessel to send down a diver equipped with a cable and means for connecting the cable to the eyes or other appropriate devices 23 on the carrier 4. It is the province of the diver when he reaches the deck of the submarine to unfasten the carrier 4 by manipulation of the devices 18 when fastening devices such as 18 are employed, and with this done, and the cable 26 properly attached to the carrier 4, the diver signals the rescuing vessel to take up the cable 26 whereupon the carrier 4 will be raised to the surface after which thepassengers in the carrier may be taken therefrom through the manhole 20. i

In the above connection it will be understood that in some instances the diver who descends to the sunken submarine may signal by taps for the sailors to enter the carrier 4, and then when the carrier 4 is filled with sailors and all the doors complementary to the improvements are closed, and the occupants of the carrier 4 signal that all is in readiness for the raising of the carrier 4, the diver may signal to the vessel on the surface that the carrier 4 be raised in the manner before described.

The carrier 4 may be raised and lowered at any time as needed, and in this connection I would have it understood that to facilitate lowering of the carrierv 4: the valve 45 is opened to allow water to enter the carrier 4. In the event that no signals are received from the submerged submarine, two divers will be required for the. proper operation of my improvement. One diver on the deck of the submarine disconnects the fastening s at 18,

' whereupon the carrier a is' raised to the surface, and another diver is then placed 1nside the carrier 4: with air lines and signal lines. The carrierd is then lowered into the position shown inFigure 5, the diver on the deck of the submarine guiding the carrier 4: into engagement with the before mentioned guide ways 9 and 10, and then the diver 1n the carrier 4t signals to the vessel on the surface to pump the water out of the carrier 4: and also out of the stationary casing 3.

The sight glasses described will enable the diver to observe the conditions in the compartments adjacent to the casing 3.

While I have described but one of my provements in connection with-a submarine, it will be readily appreciated that a submarine may be equipped with any desired number of my improvements, all'the improve ments being operable in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore described.

I have entered into a detaileddesoription of the construction and relative arrangement of the elements comprised in the present and preferred embodiment ofmy'invention in order to impart a full, clear and exact: under standing of the said embodiment. v

- I do not desire however, to be understood as limitingmyself to the construction disclosed, my invention being defined by my appended claims within the scope of which modifications may be made without departure from my invention.

Having thus described Patent is 1. In a safety equipment for submarines, a casing fixed in a submarine andopen at its upper end and having means for ingress and egress of persons, and aca-rrier of hollow form removably arranged normally in said casing with its upper end flush with the deck of the submarine and having' means for ingress andegress of persons; said carrier bethe invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters having a branch in communication with the lower portion of the carrier and another formremovably arranged normally in said casing with its upper end flush with the deck of the submarine and having means for ingressand egress of persons; said carr1erbeing adapted to be lifted from and restored to its position within the casing, a chamber in.

the upper portionof the carrier and having an individual top door, and a conduit having an upper open end and a valve disposed in said chamber and also having branches in communication with theinterior of the casing and the interior of the carrier, respectively.

In a safety equipmentfor submarines, a casing tired in a submarine and open at its upper end and having means for ingress and egress of persons, and a carrier of hollow form removably arranged normally in'said casing with its upper. end flush with the deck of the submarine and having means for ingress and egress of persons said carrier be ing adapted to be lifted from and restored to its position within the casing, a chamber in the upper portion of the carrier and havingian individual top door and a tube for the supply of fiuid to the interior of the car-' rier, extending through a wall of said chame ber andhaving removable closure devices in the carrier and chamber, respectively. 7 In testimony whereof I affix my signature i JOSEPH M. DEAN.

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ing adapted to be lifted from and restored I to its position within the casing, means for guiding the carrier out of and into the casing, coincident sight glasses in the casing and carrier, a chamber in the upper portion of the carrier and having an individual door, flush with the upper end of the carrier, a con- .duit having an upper threaded portion anda valve disposed in saidxchamber and also 

